On My Own
by ReymerRhymer
Summary: Waking up in an unfamiliar room, Ciel Phantomhive discovers that his covenant is all but gone. He now must journey in the company of Lee and Clementine to survive in a world where the dead walk and humans fighting to strive. How did he get here and why? He does not know, but he will finally learn on his own that surviving without a demon by your side is a pain in the ass.
1. The Shoeless Boy

_**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own characters from Kuroshitsuji and The Walking Dead, as they belong to their proper, respectable owners. The story follows the Walking Dead game (which belongs to it's owner), but changes to the plot and scenarios are of my own making, therefore it is by right considered fair use. This story is not used for financial gain, but by solely for non-profit creative freedom._

**On My Own**

I. _The Shoeless Boy_

It was dark. Freezing cold. There was but not a sound as he drifted further into the depths of blackness. He felt weightless in this blank dream. Comforted even. It was as if he had to worry no more about anything, but to simply relax in the darkness that surrounded him.

What felt like an eternity in the abyss, the boy woke with a sudden start to the sound of faint, but still loud gunshots. His mismatched eyes, wide from shock, darted around the small room taking in the surroundings that were unfamiliar to him. He looked down to see that he was in a small bed with lavender sheets covering it. The boy slowly brought his legs over the side edge of the bed as he then stood up groggily.

"Wh – where am I?" The boy's groggy, yet soft voice muttered. "Sebastian, where are you?" He said a little loudly as he took the first few steps, but his balance was thrown off slightly.

Stopping for a bit, he lifted a hand to brush through his dark hair but quickly brought it back to his side, feeling something amiss. The pace of his legs quicken to the mirror that was a few feet away from him to look at his reflection. His eyes widened, slightly in confusion, as he saw that his eyepatch was missing, but that was not why he was shocked.

"What is this?" He breathed out. His right eye was still the deep violet, but there was no indication of his indenture with his butler, the demon whose covenant priorly marked the violet hue. "The Faustian mark is...gone. What is going on here?!"

The boy relaxed himself as he let out a breath as he tried to remember how he ended up in the unrecognizable room. He closed his eyes, trying to recall any indication, but the ache in his head halted him from prying more into his memory bank. The moment the memory he wanted to see was vividly coming back, he felt a snap, a pull in his brain that he fell to his knees, clutched his head tightly, groaning in the pain. It was as if whatever, or whomever, got him here in this strange room has made certain to not let him remember how nor why.

"I need to get out of here." The boy said with a wince, his hand still gripping his head from the agonizing feeling.

The boy opened the room's door and slipped into the small hallway in catfooted steps.

The hallway was small with striped wallpaper, a few simple paintings and photographs hanging on the wall. The cool wood of the floor was pleasant on the boy's bare feet, he noticed that detail immediately once he stepped out. He did not how he was shoeless but looked down at what he was wearing. He wore his blue shorts and a white, untucked, long sleeve shirt, his rings on his thumb and middle finger, and his gun safely tucked behind but that was it. He looked like someone who had just recently woken up and sloppily dressed. Was he getting dressed when he ended up here? Shaking the thought he continued the trek.

There were whispering voices that faintly echoed the hall. The boy walked at the end of the hall to see a set of stairs that led to the main floor. He took a step but stopped on the second when he looked below him to see the way down was blocked by a large case. He then heard the gurgle and raspy hissing sound that was all too recognizable. It was a noise that he never wanted to hear again for the rest of his life.

_Please let this all be in my head__,_ he thought.

The boy heard a shriek and a scream coming from below. He quickened his pace to make his way below and climbed over the railing to get down. Once he was on the main floor, he saw the body of a woman with an indecent skirt length on top of a man. When the boy walked a bit closer, he saw that the girl was not like any of _those_ things he saw back on the cruise ship. No, _this_ thing was a decayed, _living_ body trying to chomp on the man. The man, who had dark skin, a blue shirt, blue trousers and brown shoes, struggled to keep the thing away from him. In a time like this, the boy wished Sebastian was here, or Snake with his venomous snake that obeyed his every command, even Elizabeth with her extraordinary and surprising sword skill. But none of them were here, he knew. In hindsight, watching the live corpse trying to dig its teeth on the man below it, the boy knew there were always more of them; he'd seen them on the _Campania_.

The dark skinned man forcefully pushed the corpse off himself as he scampered back towards the opened door with a trembling, small girl standing behind, a hammer clutched in her small hands. The man saw the boy ran the little distance from where he stood to where the moving stiff began crawling back to him, the child's bare feet clapping on the wood with every step.

"Wait!" The man shouted. He did not wanted to see the boy hurt. It all happened so fast. The boy pulled the gun that was on his person, like an expert marksman, and fired two shots on the back of the cadaver's head, instantly killing it.

The man panted as he slowly, carefully, stood up and grunted from the pain of his injured leg as he finally stood. He saw the rusted red colored fluid pooling below the corpse, then he turned to the young boy as he tucked the gun behind him, his face devoid of emotion, but his eyes shown a hint of fear. The small girl walked a the few steps near the man, looking at the body of her former babysitter.

"Did you kill it?" She asked the boy as she broke the silence between the three of them.

"I think something else did. Before him, I think." The man muttered.

"Yes. I did." The boy simply replied with not a trace of emotion.

"It's okay. I think she was a monster." She said a little frightened at the corpse. "I heard her scream two nights ago. Maybe one of the monsters got her." She looked at both males before her.

"Two nights ago?" The boy looked at her. His face scrunched at her appearance. Her dark brown hair was unkempt under the cap on her head, she wore a slightly dirty, long, white sleeveless shirt with a white ruffled skirt, dark blue leggings and black flats. He sighed knowing he looked worse for wear, too. "Was that when all this started?"

"Probably, I came to today." The male answered. "You're not from around here are you, son?"

"No. I don't even know where I am." The boy's smooth voice said.

"Do you mind telling us your name? Where you're from?" The male softly asked the boy. Even with the blank face on the youth's features, his eyes were filled with confusion and fright. He acted very mature, the man noticed. But what was he doing here in the little girl's home? Or how did he even get here?

"My name is Ciel Phantomhive. I'm Earl and Head of the Phantomhive household." He pompously replied. "I live outside the city of London. Now do you mind telling me _your_ names and where I am?"

_What a little brat_. The man thought distastefully, eyes narrowing at the youth. "The name's Lee," the man said. "The little one here is Clementine." The little girl shyly waved at the boy before hiding behind Lee's legs. "This is her house. And you're a very _long_ way from London, kid. You're in Atlanta, Georgia, in America."

"America?" Ciel's eyes widened from the revelation. He stepped a few paces away from the two, shaking his head in disbelief of the news he received. It was absurd that he was thousands of miles from his home. It was preposterous! And the dead reanimating once more, that was not possible. Sebastian and he ruined Undertaker's plans for the reanimation of the dead, twice. How could he be in America with the dead living once more, killing and eating the flesh of the living? It was just not possible. "That can't be. I can't—" Ciel hyperventilated.

"Please, son, calm down." Lee slowly approached the frightened boy. He placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulders only for the boy to violently slap the appendage away from him.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" He ferociously snarled at the man. Clementine gasped, scared of the boy, as his blue and violet eyes stared at them menacingly.

"Alright, alright," Lee said, unaffected by the sudden hostility from the youth. "Just take it easy. Calm down. Please, you're scaring her."

Ciel, breath heavy, looked at the man for a brief second then looked at the small girl huddled at the corner near the door, whimpering, trembling in fright and with her eyes closed. The way she was reminded him of that time when he almost hurt Elizabeth for breaking his ring. He then looked at Lee. The man was unshaken from his tantrum. His face was calm yet disapproving of the boy's behavior, fatherly was what came through the youth's mind.

The boy slowly calmed himself, but his breathing was still quick and uneven; with his weak health, it would be disastrous if he did not calm himself. Relaxing himself, Ciel's face was emotionless once again. Feeling a sense of guilt within, which was often rare on his part, he walked slowly towards the scared girl, and like the gentleman he was, he crouched to her level and extended his hand to her.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, his face remained unchanged. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

Clementine slowly opened her eyes to meet blue and violet. She looked at his extended hand, unsure whether to take it or not. She looked at Lee for guidance, despite just knowing him, but he felt like a father figure for her the moment they spoke. The man nodded, a faint smile on his face, reassuring Clementine that it was okay, and she took Ciel's offered hand.

Ciel pulled the girl back to her feet, then turned to the sturdy man. "What do we do now?" Ciel asked the man.

"Yeah. I want my parents to come home now." Clementine said, a bit shaken, to the older male, swinging her body back and forth.

Lee gently crouched, ignoring the pain that surged in his wounded leg, to be eye level with Clementine. "I think that might be a little while, you know?" he looked at her gently, saddened, unable to tell her the truth from the messages her mother left for her.

"Oh." She replied sadly.

The older man moved gently to her, voice still soft and gentle. "Look, I don't know what happened. But I'll look after you until then." He said to the young one who nodded in reply, then turned his gaze to the boy next to her. "Both of you."

The boy was taken aback at the man's proclamation, but hidden his shock instantly. "I-I can take care of myself." He frowned, face flushed in embarrassment. Lee snickered quietly at the boy's attempt of acting like an adult.

"What should we do now?"

"We need to find help before it gets dark." The man's deep voice said assuredly.

"Yeah, it's not safe at night." Clementine said, turning towards the sliding door. Lee carefully stood up to his full height as Clementine took her small hand in his large one. Then she turned to Ciel, offering her left hand to him. The boy looked blankly at her then looked at Lee. The man had an eyebrow raised at him, daring the boy to refuse the sweet little girl next to him.

Ciel sighed in defeat and took her small hand in his. He made a face feeling the sweatiness from it, probably from the heat that emitted from the outside, but kept his composure for her sake, and to keep the man from riling him for the fun of it. The man reminded Ciel of Sebastian to some extent. Of course he being human and his butler a demon. He looked down at Clementine. She was so small compared to him, giving him an air of superiority since he _knew_ Elizabeth, his betrothed, was a few inches taller than he was but she wore flats so she would be the same height as he. Then Ciel remembered an important detail. He looked to his feet. They were still bare.

"Let's go, you two. Stay close to me." Lee said in a hush tone.

"Wait," Ciel said stopping the two.

"What is it, Ciel?" The man said. It felt strange for the youth to hear his first name without any prefix or title. He was not content, but knew the man would not address him in a title. He was intimidating to a degree. Lee saw the boy looked down to his feet and the man followed. "Where're your shoes?"

"When I awoke, I didn't have any." He said blankly.

Shaking his head in weariness of the day, he replied "We'll get you some shoes when we get to somewhere safe." The boy nodded, conceding defeat.

The three walked out together, Clementine loosening her holding from both males to stare at her now empty home, solemnly. She quickly slid the glass door shut and looked at the man indicating she was ready to leave. Ciel stared at the yard to see the tree house in the tree, a round wheel tied to the tree by a strong and sturdy rope as a makeshift swing. A wagon and other items littered on the grounds. Clementine slipped her hand back into Ciel's, the boy a little flabbergasted at her boldness, and she pulled him down the small set of stairs that led to the pavement below. The boy looked at the man slowly walking to where they were, grunting from the pain every now and then.

Turning to the right to where the gate was, the three stopped to see two men struggling to push a damaged car out of the road. Ciel looked at the many cars on the street. Where he was from they only rode a horse-drawn carriage; automobiles were extremely rare, but the style was different, almost futuristic.

_Where did I end up in? More precisely, _when_? _He thought.

"Maaan..." Said one of the two men on the street.

"I ain't never gettin' home to mama at this rate. " Said the other man, in a strange accent the boy could not quite place.

As they neared the gate, Ciel felt his hand tugged back by the little girl next to him. "What's the matter?" he asked her softly.

"Should I stay?" She said unsure of what to do, her head down cast. The boy sighed, it was to be expected for children her age to be indecisive about mature decisions.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want to sleep in the tree house tonight," she looked up at him, "but, I don't know if I should leave. What if my parents come home?"

"He won't leave you alone." The boy replied assuredly.

"What about you?" Clementine asked him. The boy taken a bit by surprise at her question, did not know what to say. His face reddened slightly. How was he going to answer her? He barely knew her. But knew he should just answer her like he did before.

"I won't." He replied forcefully, hoping the girl wouldn't notice. Luckily for him, she smiled.

"What are you two talking about?" Lee asked as he came back to see why the young ones were lagging behind. He crouched to Clementine's level, smile present.

"Let's go somewhere safe that's close, okay?" Clementine said, unsure of herself.

"That's a good idea." The man replied getting himself back up.

They walked to the closed gate, the men that were pushing the car were still struggling with it did not notice their presence, as Clementine opened the bars of iron with a loud creak.

"Hey, man," Lee said, scaring the two before them.

"HOLY SHIT! DON'T EAT US!" The plump one said, waving his arms. The boy smirked at him, he found it amusing that they thought that their older companion was one of the dead.

"We're not going to hurt you." Lee limped to them, reassuring the two men.

"Phew," the thinner male sighed with relief, then looked at Lee. "Thought for a second you and the little ones were _both_ going to give us the chomp."

Ciel scowled at the man. He did not like being labeled as _little_. He blamed it on his health and malnourishment from _that_ long month when he contracted with the demon. Besides, he was 158 centimeters tall, that was not little. He was still growing.

"We need help." Lee said lowly to the two other men.

The thinner man, worried face, answered the dark skinned male. "So you've seen them then," he said as he turned to look at the carcass, blood underneath it. It was pale, it's clothes shredded, ribcage poking. "Are you trying to get out of here? Because you should be. Those things are all over the damn place. I haven't seen anything as gnarly as this neighborhood since downtown Atlanta, fifteen miles back."

Just as the boy predicted, there were more than just the one in the house, and the ones that bit her.

"I'm Shawn, Shawn Greene." The thin man introduced himself.

"Lee," the man answered, then turned to the two young ones. "This is Clementine, and he's Ciel."

The plump man looked at Ciel's face, feeling slightly scared of the boy and decided to crouch to the little girl's level, introducing himself. "I'm Chet." He replied, waving at the small girl. Clementine smiled shyly as she then slightly hid behind the boy.

"We shouldn't be out in the open like this," Shawn said anxiously as he searched around him for any sign of the reanimated dead. "How about you help us clear the way and we'll take you and your kids out of here, and down to my family's farm. It should be safe there." He offered, a smile on his lips.

"I'm not their dad. I'm..." Lee hesitated to answer.

"He's our sitter." Ciel answered, feeling both impatience at the man's hesitance and anxious that there could be more dead out there walking, and he was not going to have none of that. "Our parents' are out of town on business, seeing as I'm only a child, they asked this man to care for us because I'm not responsible enough."

"So, _you two_ are related?" Shawn asked a bit in disbelief.

"Different fathers, but same mother." Ciel replied, Clementine was confused at the boy's lie. If the thin man thought Lee was their father, then that meant that mixing different races was no issue here. He squeezed the small hand in his tightly as if saying to go along with it. Clementine looked at Shawn looking at her for confirmation and she nodded.

"Oh. I take it your mom's English then, what with your accent?"

"Yes. Mum and I are from London, but we moved here in Atlanta when I was five. She and my sister's father met over there and married here." Ciel faked a smile to the thinner man. Clementine was a little scared of that fake smile, she knew it was fake just from the feel of it.

"Alright then," Shawn said satisfied, "Let's get going. Staying put for too long is a mistake." Lee nodded at Shawn, then turned to look at the two behind him.

"I..." Clementine stammered, looking at Lee, then to the house, to Ciel, but was interrupted when Chet spoke.

"Them monsters comin'! WE GOTTA GO!" Chet said urgently. The raspy growling and snarls from the dead was growing closer towards them.

Shawn ran to the dented car then turned to Lee. "Lee, quick! Let's go!" He said quietly and alarmed to get the man to help push the vehicle.

Lee ran to the car that Shawn was pushing and helped him move the dented scrap metal from the road. As they pushed more, they stopped briefly as the car was stuck. Lee then turned to the boy and called to him. "Ciel!"

Ciel did not know what to do. How can he help push the damn thing. He knew his strength limits, but groaned in annoyance and ran towards them, Clementine behind his heels as they all pushed the banged up car away from the road as much as they could. _Damn this thing is heavy__!_ He thought as he strained to a halt. Once the snarls got closer, they all made their way into the car. Clementine and Lee took to the front as Chet helped Ciel in the back, Shawn getting into the driver's seat.

Shawn revved up the red pick-up and floored it, giving his back passengers a bit of backlash from the insane escape route.

Ciel muttered an ouch when his head hit the back of the cab. He rubbed the sore spot and saw Clementine looking out the window as she stared at the monsters that were left behind. Thinking that the insanity was over, Shawn turned on the curb, knocking some roadblocks in a sharp right turn making the boy recoil and hurt himself once more.

_I'll murder whomever invented this damn thing!_ The boy swore vengeance. He made an oath to never get back into one of these contraptions ever again, or at least with one Shawn Greene behind the wheel.

* * *

_A/N: So that's the first chapter. I'd never thought about writing a crossover story, but I was tempted to. Now, I would've done a Kuroshitsuji/ The Last of Us crossover, but there would be no way for Ciel to interact with the main cast. What would he alone contribute to Joel and Ellie on their journey? Nothing. Zero. Zip. Nada! Only getting himself in trouble or killed._

_So I thought, why not put him in The Walking Dead universe (the game version of course since I'm a bit behind 17 issues of the comic series, but I love Clem and Lee in the game). I thought it would be fun to mess with our beloved little lord and take away his only strength and have him do and think for himself than relying on Sebastian. Ciel will still be Ciel, but it's about time our Young Master learns how to survive on his own, even playing nice with others._

_This story is all in Ciel's third person POV. I HATE first person. If the perspective of the character changes, I'll place it with the chapter title to let you know._

_If you enjoyed this story, leave a review, add it to your alerts and faves. Until next time!_

_::NOTE:: Edited on 3/27/15_


	2. Of Laces and Hard Work

**On My Own**

_II. Of Laces and Hard Work_

The ride to Shawn's home felt like a long way. The twilight of the sky grew dark as they kept driving. Ciel had not spoken a word since, he was not much for conversations and certainly there would be no commonality between he and Chet, who sat adjacent to him. To pass the time, the boy watched the streets of houses pass by them. Each house was uniquely built, not taking the same model as the rest. There passed a few more living dead who ignored them as they feasted on the poor soul that laid on the ground unmoving. There were the few dumb ones that believed if they walked fast enough, they could catch up to the speeding pick-up (it was amusing to a certain extent). There was an occasion where Shawn had to stop the truck and with Lee's help, they pushed another car that blocked their way, and in good fortune there were no dead around.

Once the light of the sky darkened and the crickets' song began, the boy saw they were now entering the country and the dirt road was unpleasant with the few bumps here and there, especially with the speed that their driver was going.

After passing some fields, Shawn turned the vehicle to the right, in between stalks of crops. The truck came to a full stop as it stationed in front of a white house, the porch was dimly lit. The pick-up's engine was cut off as Chet hopped over the side of the trunk, with Shawn getting out from the front. Lee and Clementine got out from the passenger's side, but Ciel refused to leave the back. Lee shook his head amusedly, noticing the teen's scrunched up face when he saw the dirt on the ground, seeing that he hated getting dirty in any way. Shawn looked at them after Chet said his goodbyes and left. He walked to the side of the truck's bed and looked at Lee.

"What's wrong with him?" Shawn asked the other man as he turned to Ciel.

"He lost his shoes and he's not about to leave from that spot." Lee sniggered as the boy gave him a warning look, to which the man completely ignored.

"Seriously?" Shawn looked to Ciel, the boy was redder than a tomato from the complete humiliation and quandary he was in. The stares he received from them, even Clementine's, was making the matter worse. "C'mon, it's just a little dirt. Be a man." Shawn said boisterously, roughly ruffling the boy's hair which the boy smacked the hands away, displeased.

_Why does everyone question my masculinity?!_ Ciel thought as he harrumphed pompously and jumped off the bed of the truck to the cold dirt below. It felt rough, powdery, and gross as he could feel some of the dust embed itself between his toes. It was different from the rough texture of paved concrete that the road from the suburbs was made of. He thought that after that one month he would never in his life touch the dirt with bare feet, and yet here he was, again, barefooted; trying to save what little dignity he had left he strode away with Clementine after him from the two men who still snickered at his expense.

Clementine snuck her hand in the boy's and he looked back at her, still unaccustomed at her boldness. _I'll never be used to that. Even Elizabeth wasn't this bold._ He thought, but counted himself lucky that the small girl had not crushed him in a discomforting embrace as his fiancee (as well as his Uncle Alexis) once did.

"What is it?" Ciel said mildly irritated as he pulled his hand from the small girl.

"You're angry?" she simply asked, her brown eyes large and doe-like were etched with concern

The boy sighed, "and if I am, what of it?"

Clementine stood silently, not making a single sound. She took hold of Ciel's hand again and muttered a "come on" as she dragged him (he willingly let her since she would still take his hand with or without his consent) to where Lee and Shawn were, and an older, white bearded man was on the front porch steps.

"I see that you also brought some little guests with you." The bearded man said to Shawn when he saw the two youths approach them.

"Your boy's a lifesaver," Lee said.

"Glad he could be of help to somebody." The elder man, whom Ciel noticed was Shawn's father, replied politely. "So it's just you and your kids then." Shawn's father looked towards Ciel and Clementine, her hand still in his.

"Oh, they're not his kids," Shawn shook his head to the bearded man, "he's the babysitter. But the two are related."

"Son," Shawn's father began as he stared at the boy, trying to intimidate the truth out of the youth; "do you know this man?"

Ciel's face was blank, nonchalant and replied to the man in a snarky manner. "I wouldn't have gone along with him if I didn't know him."

"A little smart mouth you got yourself there." The man's face hardened at him, Shawn held in his laughter to which his father disapprovingly looked at him, then turned to Clementine and bended to her level. "Honey?"

"Yes," she replied softly.

"Okay then." The bearded man stood up to his full height and noticed Lee's injury. "Well, looks like you hurt your leg pretty bad there."

"Yeah, it's not doing so good." Lee said, breath hitching every now and then from his injury.

"I can help you out. Shawn, run on in and check on your sisters." The elder said to his son before turning to Lee and gestured him to sit on the bench. "You, take a seat up on the porch and I'll go see what I have."

Shawn and his father made their way inside the house as Lee limped to the seat on the far side of the porch. Clementine took a few steps to observe the man at a distance and Ciel took a seat on the lower step. The bearded man returned quickly just as he left and walked towards the injured Lee. Ciel tentatively listened to the conversation between the two as a precaution if the wounded man hesitated when asked about them; a child he may be, but he had quite the silver tongue should it be needed, as he did have a way with words to get what he wanted.

"Let's have a look," the bearded man observed the man's wound; "Yeah, this is swollen to hell."

"It _hurts_ like hell." Lee painfully grunted from the slight movement.

"I bet it does. What'd you say your name was?"

Ciel turned his head slightly to catch a glimpse at Lee from the corner of his eye. He slightly narrowed his eyes, obviously he knew the man was going to interrogate their companion. He expected the dark skinned male to lie, at least to make their story believable.

"It's Lee."

_No last name, huh?_

"Nice to meet you, Lee. I'm Hershel Greene." Shawn's father introduced himself. Hershel wrapped Lee's injured leg securely, the other male winced at the feeling of the gauze. The older man continued his interrogation, ever focused on his small task. "How'd this happen?"

"Car accident." Lee simply replied.

"Where were you headed? Before the car accident?"

"I was getting out of Atlanta."

"The news says stay." Hershel said as he slightly gazed at Lee in scrutiny, then continued back to the wrapping of the other man's leg.

"Yeah, well that's a mistake." Lee replied before he went on. "We hit a guy, one of those things you've been hearing about, on the road."

"Who were you with, the kids?"

"I was with a police officer. He was giving me a ride."

Ciel tensed. Was Lee a criminal? From the way the older man's personality was, it seemed highly unlikely. He seemed highly educated, held himself with authority, but not once had the man emitted any cause of suspicion. Nevertheless, precaution was everything at this point given the circumstance; also he could not judge Lee if he was a criminal as those set of skills did come in handy once in a while, depending what crime the man committed.

"Awful nice of him."

"I'm an awful nice guy."

_Idiot. _Ciel was sure that this man was going to be his doom. To his surprise though, Hershel accepted the story, not prying more into it.

"House is full up with mine. We've got another displaced family of three sleeping in the barn. You and your kids are welcome to rest there, when we're done here." Hershel said to the man before him as he turned towards the small girl behind the post. "I didn't catch your name, darlin'."

"Clem-Clementine." She shyly answered, exhaustion clear on her face.

"And yours, smart mouth?" Hershel turned to look at the boy on the bottom step.

"Ciel." The boy answered indifferently, turning to face out the distance looking at nothing particular.

"Can't imagine what you two've been through."

"I'm looking after them until we find their parents," Lee said.

The boy heard footsteps from behind and turned once again to see Shawn walking out the door. He then eyed the man's hand and saw a pair of old, dirty and slightly tattered shoes.

"Here ya go, kid." He smirked as he tossed the shoes to the boy, who clumsily caught them. "Hope they fit. They used to be mine, so take care of them."

The boy nodded as Shawn turned to his father and resumed conversation with Lee. Ciel dreaded himself at that moment. The shoes were with laces, the humanity of it all. The entirety of the shoes were blue cloth with a circular patch on one side that read _Converse_. There was some tatter on them. The tips were white, or what used to be white as they were worn and dirty. The white laces were also filthy that they took up an off-white or light yellow in color with speckles of dirt on them. Ciel looked at them in disgust; setting them aside, knew he had no other option but to wear them.

Ciel did not notice Clementine contemplating his demeanor and actions. She took the few steps down and sat beside the shoes so they were in between them.

"Aren't you going to wear them?" Clementine asked him, eyeing the shoes to her side. She saw Ciel's head lowered, hair curtaining the top half of his face. His mouth was in a tight grim line. "Ciel?" She called to him, the way her high and childish pitch said his name was foreign to his ears. He was still not used to having his first name said without a title before it. All she heard was an incoherent mutter. "Huh?"

Ciel looked up at the small girl, face flushed (how many times had he turned the color his deceased aunt loved?), a frown on his comely face as he motioned for her to come closer. Clementine got as close as she could without squishing the shoes beside her, and giving the boy some personal space. Ciel leaned towards her ear and whispered in a hushed voice, "I don't know how tie laces."

Clementine was taken aback, surprise was evident on her face. He was older than she, but he did not know how to do the simplest of things. How did this boy managed to live this far in life? This brought her a soft and small giggle. "You don't—" She was cut off with a hand covering her mouth and seeing the boy shushing her, face still red from embarrassment.

"Don't. Say. A. Word." He lowly said through clenched teeth in an attempt of warning. Clementine nodded in understanding and he let his hand drop. He picked up one the shoes on his side, looking at it in distaste and groaned in disgust as he slipped his foot into the hightop, then his other foot followed with the other. Ciel looked at the laces, vexation clear on his face. Sebastian, his butler, was the one who dressed him in the mornings and evenings and tied laces, ribbons and ties. He never learned how to, believing he would not need to as he had someone to do it for him.

Ciel felt a tight tug on his feet and brought his focus back to reality to see Clementine tying his left shoe. After she was done, she went to tie the other one. He stared at her face focusing on her task, it was so strange for him to feel a sense of maturity coming from someone so young. At her age, he was still childish, always wanting to play games and do childish things, but Clementine was different. Even though she was indecisive to leave her home before, she did not complain once nor cried or throw a tantrum of wanting to stay; she took the mature way and moved on. Now, even as she laughed at his lack of knot tying skills, here she was tying his laces with no trouble or minding.

"Finished!" She softly echoed, smiling happily. It was the first genuine smile he'd seen from her all day, what with the chaos the world had come to. It was in a way...endearing? Sweet?

Ciel looked at her work, though not perfectly straightened like Sebastian would have done, it was still passable, not that he could do any better. "Thank you," he said softly, intended for her ears only.

Hearing footsteps coming their way, both boy and girl looked at Shawn's retreating form as he went back inside the house, saying a small goodnight to the two. They then turned to look at Hershel stand and said to Lee if his leg's swelling did not recede, it was infected.

"What do we do then?" Lee asked Hershel anxiously, to which it was understandable.

"We'll probably just have to shoot you." Hershel said gravely, which in turn scared the small girl and the wounded man, the boy smirked at the attempted dark humor. Then the older man's tone changed to one of mirth and matter-of-factly. "We'll clean it, re-dress it and you'll be fine."

"Okay, that'd be preferable." Lee said with relief.

"There's blankets and such in the barn. We'll be seeing you bright and early." Hershel informed Lee. "Come tomorrow, which way you think you're headed?"

"Towards Macon, I suppose." Lee answered the man, who then nodded acknowledging the response and turned to leave but not without smiling at Clementine who returned it with one of her own. Then a nod to Ciel, who acknowledged back.

"All right then," Lee stood up carefully, the gauze wrapped securely on his leg.

The group of three stalked their way to the barn, Ciel dreading their accommodations for the night. This barn was no place for a noble such as himself. Lee opened the barn's red painted, wooden door and ushered the two children inside. Finding the blankets, and pillows on a stack of hay, the three picked a spot that was spacious enough for them and made their beds for the night. Lee carefully laid on his back with Clementine in the middle on her side facing him, and Ciel was beside her, facing the other direction.

The place was dirty, but the strength of the smell was more noticeable once they laid on the ground in their makeshift beds. Clementine took a whiff and her face scrunched up.

"It smells like..." She hesitated on what word to use.

"Manure/Shit." Lee and Ciel replied, the older male frowning at the boy's back for his choice of colorful language. Clementine gasped at the word the boy used.

"Boy, shouldn't talk like that with a little lady around. Now apologize." He firmly told the boy.

Ciel sighed and grunted from annoyance. He knew the man was not going to drop it and will pester him to no end. They may have only known each other for a few hours, but Ciel felt as if he knew him all his life. Lee acted like a father, a teacher. He knew just how to rile someone up and how to calm them or demand something, like an apology for the girl about the swear word he just used. Ever the gentleman he was taught to be, albeit the foul word, the boy propped his top half and looked at the girl. "My apologies, my lady. I'll never use such language around you ever again." He then looked to Lee, irritatingly. "Happy?"

"For the time being." Lee said to which the boy went back to his sleep position of having his back face the two.

"That was a swear," Clementine said after a moment of silence, then curled herself further into a ball. "I miss my mom and dad."

"I bet, Clem." Lee replied to her comfortingly.

"How far is Savannah?" She whispered softly.

"Pretty far."

"Oh. Okay," she tiredly said, as she fell asleep soundly.

Oh how he hated when his mind could not focus on his slumber. With events such as this, how could anyone sleep? Ciel could not snooze not even for five minutes. Whenever he tried, especially after an exhausting and horrifying day, his nightmares would be there welcoming him, plaguing him into their territory. He closed his eyes every now and then, but jolted awake whenever he drifted fully to sleep; this went on for a while. He felt warmth from his back and peeked to see Clementine had turned to her other side facing his direction. _Stupid girl_, he thought halfheartedly. The body heat that warmed his back became increasingly uncomfortable. He moved a bit further from her, but found that her fists clung to his shirt in a vice grip. Ciel grumbled silently and turned his body to free himself from her clutches. When he succeeded, Clementine let out a little whimper from the loss of warmth. Not wanting the girl to wake Lee, he moved closer to the girl again, but this time he was facing her. _You really are childish __aren't you, Clementine?_

It was not long after that the boy heard tossing and turning from further down. The older man made small noises, as if in some form of emotional pain. Lee cried out, sitting up, sweat trickling from his brow. He panted as he attempted to calm down, and once he did, he settled back down on the pillow underneath. Just as the man was about to shut his eyes, the boy spoke to him, voice soft so as not to awaken the child beside him.

"Nightmare?" Ciel asked his older companion. He was not interested, but then again he really did not know much about the man. The nightmares could be related to something from his past, maybe on how he ended up at Clementine's home, being with a police officer before then. Lee turned his head to see Ciel wide awake, blue and violet eyes staring intently, Clementine holding on to him.

"Yeah. Bad one." Lee replied, still shaken from the dream. "Did I wake you up?"

"No," the boy said softly, emotionless. "I have them, too. I've had them for almost four years. They never fade. You'll get used to them eventually."

"It's just a nightmare. Dreams always change." Lee said trying to avoid the subject and assured himself it was a one time occurrence. He needed a subject change. He looked at Clementine, seeing that she was comfortable in the warmth of the uptight boy. "I see she's taken a liking to you."

"It's possible that it's because we are both close to age. It does get rather annoying, but I've had worse. She listens diligently, but she can be a bit childish. Prime example," Ciel pointed at Clementine to show the girls child-like manner of sleeping beside him, desperately holding on to him for his warmth. "How old is she?"

"She's eight." Lee answered the boy. "None of you young ones should have to experience something like this. How old are you?"

"I'm thirteen, almost fourteen."

"Yet you act more like an adult...sometimes." Lee said, a low chuckle filling their ears. Ciel scoffed, but smirked playfully. "How're the shoes?"

"They fit, but I still prefer a _clean_ pair. I don't know where that man's feet have been, nor do I ever wish to know. But they'll have to do for now."

"Once we get to Macon, we'll find you a new pair." Lee promised the boy who was shutting his eyes slowly.

"See that you do." The boy said with a yawn, finally shutting his eyes. Lee followed suit, but was awaken again when the boy spoke once more. "Memories never fade."

"Pardon?"

"The nightmares, or the memory that affected you so profound, will occasionally come back. It never leaves you alone. So try to get use to it, because you'll never know when it might happen. And they _always_ come back."

The man stared at the boy, he did not speak again. He wondered what kind of nightmares plagued Ciel's young mind. Surely nothing as bad as this? But he did not know him very well. He was a brat, but he was mature and reserved when it comes to himself other than public information. Ciel also stated that he was an earl, but that was probably some sort of child-like fantasy, imagination. Lee decided to rest once more. He would have to ask the boy about himself some other day.

Ciel was deep asleep when he felt himself being shaken up. He let one eye ajar to see Clementine was the one who woke him up. The boy cried annoyed and tiredly, closing his eyes again. The little girl was relentless, calling him to wake up and shook him again to which the boy swatted her arms away.

"Lee, he doesn't want to wake up," her little voice rang to the male.

"Up and at 'em, kid. We got chores to do." Said an unfamiliar voice to the sleeping boy.

The boy groaned in displeasure. "I don't do chores," he said groggily, turning his body the other way in hoping the unknown voice would take the hint, but to his dismay the man persisted.

"Well that's too bad, now up, up, up." The voice said. "The name's Kenny."

"Lee," his companion replied.

"Dad!" The loud voice called to Kenny, to which Ciel propped himself up and awake. He turned to see the perpetrator that disturbed his slumber completely. It was a boy, no older than Clementine, standing at the end of the barn's door, smile beaming, blinding Ciel's very eyes (metaphorically speaking). "We're gonna build a fence! There's a tractor and everything!" The excited boy exclaimed eagerly as he ran off.

Ciel turned to Kenny, his black, handlebar mustache, long black hair hidden under a brown cap and bushy, black eyebrows. "_What_ was that?" The boy asked non too happy as he brushed himself off the pieces of straw that clung to his person.

The mustached man light heartedly laughed at the boy's annoyance and disheveled appearance of random strands of hay in his hair. He then turned his attention to Lee. "We better get going or we won't hear the end of it." He replied, then led the way out as he once again took up conversation. "That's my boy, Ken Junior. We call him Duck, though."

"Duck?" Lee and Ciel simultaneously asked as they looked at Kenny, Ciel drawing out a long yawn.

"Yeah. Nothing bothers him. Like water off a duck's back, y'know."

Ciel slowed his pace a few feet away from the rest to look at the landscape. Everything that was once covered in darkness revealed itself in the morning light. Hershel's farm was lightly surrounded by a few trees, there was also wooden planks and boards stacked or leaned against the wooden fences. A few animals could be heard off a couple of distances away. His eyes wandered to his two companions. Lee held on to Clementine's hand as they kept walking with the other man towards a woman sitting by a bale of straw. The sight of the small girl and the grown man walking hand in hand, as a father holding onto his daughter's hand in security, brought about memories of Ciel and his own parents; the happier memories long since passed. He could still recall when at every social event, his father always held onto his small palm in his large one, being guided around so as not to get lost in the crowd.

"Dad!" The sound of the young boy, Duck, broke Ciel from his thoughts as he realized that the rest were near the woman.

Ciel paced a bit quickly to catch up to the others. As he neared them, Clementine turned her head slightly to see the boy a step behind her. She smiled lightly holding out her tiny hand to him, a gesture he was still trying to get used to as he sighed and took hold of it, otherwise, Lee might nag him to no end.

"What were you thinking about?" Clementine whispered to the boy beside her, doe eyes in curious wonder.

"What makes you think I was in thought?" Ciel retorted quietly. He knew he sounded a bit rude, but he liked his privacy. He heard her silent apology and he let out a breath knowing all too well that he had upset her, again. He had a feeling that she was just worried about him, even though they knew each other for only a night. How did this girl, with every gesture, every emotion, the sound of her voice so far affected him so easily? Ciel sighed tiredly. "You don't have to be sorry. It's just private, that's all." There was no verbal reply from her, but a nod from her head showed that she understood.

"I'll see what the kids would like." They heard Lee's gruff voice say to the man in the cap.

"I understand," Kenny replied, a small smile on his lips as he then turned to the woman and boy. "Honey, Duck, this is Lee and, what're their names?"

"The little one is Clementine, and the grumpy-looking one is Ciel," Lee replied to him. Ciel clicked his tongue out of annoyance of being called "grumpy-looking". Serious was a better word to describe him.

"Clementine and Ciel," Kenny repeated.

"Clementine, that's a very pretty name," the woman smiled at the small girl.

"Thanks," Clementine shyly replied at the complement.

"I never thought I would meet a boy with a very unique name." The woman then looked at the older boy next to Clementine. "You have very nice eyes, like the sky. I can see why they named you after it."

"Uh...thank you," Ciel lowly replied, faux politeness and eye twitching. He had to mind his manners; if she were a man he would have had a comeback or two to say to the woman. _Emasculate me why don't you_.

The crunching of the dirt on the ground alerted them of their newcomer. Shawn gave a nod in greeting to the group as the others acknowledged him. "We should get to work. We've seen what those things can do so the faster we get this fence done the better."

"I want to build a fence," Duck looked to his parents, beaming with excitement.

"Yeah." Shawn turned to the small boy. "Well I need a good foreman. You can sit on the tractor and yell at me whenever I take a water break."

"On the tractor?" Duck asked with shimmering eyes. "Cool!"

"And I'll also take this guy here," Shawn walked to Ciel, ruffling the boy's hair much to the other's dismay. "C'mon."

"I don't do chores." Ciel made a face as he brushed through his dark locks in an attempt to fix it.

"C'mon, it ain't so bad." The older male wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulder, guiding him back towards the barn, Duck followed to catch up to them

Once they made it to their destination, Duck immediately ran towards the red tractor (something Ciel did not know what it was) and climbed aboard. There were already some wooden boards and a few metal sheets nailed together to the fence to keep some of the undead at bay, but there was still more to go. There were a couple of bales of hay stacked on top of one another, a shady tree to one side, piles of planks set down beside the bales.

Shawn picked up a few of the planks on his shoulder from the pile and walked to one of the unblocked areas. "Could you get a couple more?" He turned his head to Ciel. The boy scoffed at the idea of labor. He was an earl, someone of importance. He wouldn't be caught dead doing such dirty work. "Just carry what you can, and don't hurt yourself."

Ciel sighed in defeat and trudged his way to the wooden boards that laid on the ground. The people treated him like a mere child with a bratty attitude. He knew that if he gave Shawn Greene a hard time Lee would be called upon to handle him, like a disobedient dog. Ciel would never had let anyone talk down to him in England, but his title was worthless in a country where dead bodies decided to walk once more and turned the place in complete mayhem.

Ciel bent down and picked up two planks, careful to keep them balanced on his thin arms. He walked back towards Shawn and dropped the boards to the ground beside the others as it made a loud _CLANK_. "Now what?" Ciel looked down to Shawn who was nailing the wood to the fence. The sound of the hammer reduced as the older male stood to his full height, wiping a bit of perspiration from his brow.

"Two options," Shawn said, holding up two fingers; "Option one: you help me by steadying the boards while I hammer them down, or vice versa. Option two: you can hammer the boards by yourself while I cut those in length. Your choice."

"What about option three?" Ciel crossed his arms across his chest, stance firm and authoritative. Shawn raised a curious brow at the teen. There were always more options to help around the farm, and Ciel would rather do small, light work than all that heavy work. He was never one to physically work hard what with his health problem, as proven when he went undercover in the circus last winter. Potato peeling was seriously a very long and very tedious labor, but he much prefer that over what one Shawn Greene was offering. He did have an ace in the whole to get out of this chore.

"What do you propose then?" Shawn mimicked Ciel's actions, arms crossed on his chest, although he smiled, knowing full well what the teen was up to. "Both options are pretty light work, you barely would lift a thing. So, pray tell why you're making such a big deal about a minuscule task?"

"I have asthma." The boy plainly stated, not once losing ground in his defiance against chores. "I had an attack back at the house, before we met you and Chet."

Shawn's gaze was on him, there was some scrutiny behind those eyes, but the man let out a breath and shook his head. It seemed he believed the boy. "Explains why you're so scrawny," he chuckled softly. "Don't worry, this won't affect your symptoms. You're barely going to do anything. Any allergies I should know about?"

_Damn._ The boy cursed internally, his plan to avoid all things work related backfiring. "Cats," the boy answered plainly. Typically his plans tended to work, but without the filthy demon around to do the chores for him, as per usual, he would have to humiliate himself once more and do the tasks asked of him. These people did not tolerate laziness or care if one was of a higher status in society, as was shown. Ciel had to suck it up. Throw away his pride and be the "man" that these people expected him to be. How irritating.

"You didn't bring your inhaler?" Shawn said to the boy, sucking in the air, raking his fingers through his hair.

"My what?" Ciel was confused at the word. There were a few choice words he heard that did not register to him. For example, the word _inhaler_.

"You know?" Shawn demonstrated with his hands, his index finger looking as if he pushed on some form of pump. "Your medicine, kid. We have cats roaming around the farm, and you don't know when one would pop up on you."

"Then it seems my work here is done." Ciel turned around and began to stride away, a small victory smirk on his lips.

"Hold it right there, little man." Shawn placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. He then turned his head to face the smaller boy on the tractor who had a confused look on his face. "Hey Duck," he began, "why don't you go feed the chickens with your mom and Ciel's sister. We'll be back shortly."

Duck did not needed another word to persuade him into feeding the birds in the coop. His smile beamed happily, excitedly. He quickly got off the tractor and ran around to find his mother. Ciel had no idea how that boy had so much energy this early in the morning. It did annoyed him, even though he did not personally know Duck himself. Maybe it was that oblivious nature of the smaller boy that irritated him. Ignorance is bliss, but at a time like this one, it was a death magnet.

Once Duck scampered off, Ciel was guided by the older male to the house. Opening the storm door, Shawn motioned for him to enter, and the young lord did as such.

"Hang tight, I'll be right back." Shawn said leaving the boy by his lonesome a few feet inside the entrance. The inside was spacious enough with white walls, hardwood flooring, old furnishings, and little things here and there. It was very homey despite his rather luxurious and expensive taste, but the young earl could not help but make a face when he felt the comfortableness of the home's atmosphere. He proceeded to pace around the home, looking at the picture frames with dullness. Some pictures were in black and white, while others were in color much to his surprise. At that he pondered whether he either ended up just in a different country, or a different time completely.

Startled by the sound of the storm door slamming, Ciel turned to look at two girls (about the same if not a bit older than he), twins most likely, enter the home conversing with each other on some matter the boy could not hear. When they took notice of him, he nodded a greeting to the two as one of them, the one in pigtails waved at him and the one in glasses nodded back.

"You're one of the people that came here last night, right?" Smiled the pigtailed girl as she clung to her twin's arm with what the boy could assume was eagerness.

"Yes," Ciel replied politely. He had to show some courtesy to these girls as he is a guest in their home.

"My name's Susie Greene and this my sister, Rachel." The pigtailed girl addressed herself and her twin. "What's your name?"

"Ciel." The boy answered in faux politeness. He wondered what was keeping Shawn. Ciel was not much of a conversationalist as he stood by the frames awkwardly.

"So," Rachel attempted to keep the talk going, "what brings you in here?"

"I'm waiting for Shawn," was Ciel's simple reply; though one look in their eyes and their excitement was full blown on their faces.

"You're the English boy!" Susie was the first to comment in amusement.

"Pardon?" Ciel was confused. Did these girls knew about him?

"Shawn spoke about you last night. Never thought we'd properly meet since you will be leaving soon. Though our big brother never mentioned you are quite..." Rachel stalled, finding a good word to describe the lordling.

"A cutie!" Susie added, hugging one of Ciel's arms surprising him. "Then again, this is Shawn we're talking about. Very protective in keeping such details confidential."

"So, Ciel," Rachel pushed her glasses up, "do you have a girlfriend?"

Ciel did not know how to answer that question. He was never interested with such trivial things. He stammered, trying his best to composed himself and answer that he had a fiancee, but the words would not leave his mouth. Girls were such complicated creatures. Had his butler been present, the demon would not have let him hear the end of it. He was at least thankful that the tall butler was not present. From the clothing they wore to the openness of almost everything, this culture was very eccentric, indeed. He felt so out of place.

"Alright you two, leave the kid alone." Shawn's amused tone was heard behind them. He shooed them away from the reddening boy. "Shouldn't you two be out doing your chores? And anyway, you'll have to go through his sister first."

"Okay, okay," Susie released the boy's arm and past her brother, followed by Rachel.

"You're no fun, Shawn." With that last comment, the two walked to where the older male came from, a giggle here and there.

"Sorry about my sisters. They're at the age where they notice boys for the first time." Shawn said, handing the boy what appeared to be a cloth mask. "For your allergies. Who knows when one of them cats will scamper around here."

"Thank you." Ciel muttered, knowing the meaning behind the thin cloth. Shawn playfully ruffled the boys hair, which he got a dissatisfied groan from the youth.

"Rachel and Susie are the babies in the family; pay them no mind." The older male said. He grabbed a picture frame from the wall and handed it to the boy. The picture was colorful, displaying happy smiles to the camera. "Since you met the twins, this one here is Maggie." He pointed to the girl in short brown hair, then proceeded to point at every one in the picture. "That there's Lacey and Arnold. Then there's Billy, the youngest boy. He's eighteen." He then pointed to the woman beside Hershel. "That's my mom."

Ciel hummed in acknowledgment. He did not care in the least, but for some apparent reason, his strict and proud exterior has attracted these odd fellows. Back home, he was a force not to be trifled with or else you may end up as the next minced meat pie. Then again, these people did not know him nor his reputation, and he did not like it one bit. If he wanted to live through this apocalypse, then he very well has to play his cards right. Everyone to him was a chess piece, a pawn in this game of survival, and he would make sure that he will come out on top. He will recover his memories, and bring upon hell to whatever or whomever brought him to this place. This he swore.

* * *

Here they were again, working on the dreaded barricade. Ciel could not believe he was hammering the nails to the fence. Every once in a while, the young earl would hammer a finger or thumb on accident, making him lower the mask on his face and suck on the injured digit for some form of relief. Those small incidents made Shawn Greene take over the nailing while Ciel held the wooden planks steady and aligned. The man made it look simple. Together, they had almost finished one side. It came as an alleviation (and luck) that Shawn's younger brothers helped work on the fence from the other side of the farm, giving them a small break and a chance to complete the damn thing faster.

Exhausted from the work and the sun's heat, Ciel sat back wiping the perspiration from his brow. His shirt was wet with sweat, it was uncomfortable with the way it clung to his skin. His hair was more of a bother with the oils of his skin making his hair coarse. The noble then looked to Duck, sitting right back on the tractor, imagining driving the contraption. He very much so wanted to hurt the boy in his cheery, sunny face. When Shawn and he stepped out of the house, he ran into Katjaa (as he learned her name) and asked about her son's age. Ken Junior (also known as Duck, or Ducky as his mother affectionately calls him) was ten. TEN! Three years younger than Ciel himself, and the younger boy was exempt from working such trivial chores? What sort of madness had this world come to? If _little Ducky_ was able to feed chickens, then why not let the little bundle work on the damn fence!

Deep in planning on how to get back at Duck, the young lord did not sense the crunching of dirt of someone approaching him. The splash of cool water that landed on his face jolted the boy from his masterminding. It was a pleasure to feel the water on his flesh, refreshing him from the unbearable heat. His eyes found the source of the drops on his face. There stood Lee with a couple of bottles in his arms, one directed towards Ciel himself. The boy took the bottle in slight gratification as he felt the cool condensation on his palm, then saw Lee hand one to Shawn and Duck.

"Thought you could use a drink." Lee said with a small smile, then waved to Duck as the boy waved back with much enthusiasm. "Need a hand?"

"That be great." Shawn replied as he took a large gulp from the bottle, then wiped the excess away from his chin. "If you could cut those two-bys to length, that'd sure speed things up. Can't trust this kid with a hammer much less a saw." He laughed at the last bit, receiving a death glare from Ciel.

The young lord opened his bottle, a bit forcefully seeing as how it was sealed tight. Once opened he took a small sip letting the cold liquid run down his parched throat, then sighed with satisfaction. The water tasted different than what he was used to back home. It tasted fresh with a hint of minerals for flavor, much less than from tap. He took a final, large swig and stood up, walking to the back of the tractor. The boy hoisted himself up and laid flat on the bed of the cart, closing his eyes to rest in the shade. The small labor was not intensive, nor was it difficult, but with the heat beating down and his lack of skills drained every ounce of stamina he had left.

"Back to work, Ciel! I'm the foreman, remember?" The young lord heard Duck say, ever the animated one. Ciel opened his right eye to look at the younger boy, disinterested, then closed it shut and rested once more.

"Quiet." Ciel said to the boy, letting out a heavy sigh. God he was so tired, and hearing the younger boy "order" him was grinding. "I'm resting."

"Okay!" Duck exclaimed, "Five minutes!"

With that said, Ciel got peace and quiet, aside from the bumps made by the boy situated on the driver's seat, bouncing happily every now and then, and Lee with Shawn working on the fence. It was placid, just like back home. He was never one to live in cities. It was nothing but overcrowding and noisy, which was why, like many of his family, he liked the countryside; however, he preferred being in gardens that smelled of his favorite winter roses than the reeking smell of farm animals. The slight breeze that passed through was welcoming, and just as it came it went.

In his rest, he wondered how everyone he knew fared. Did they know he was missing? Were they out searching for him? Was his demonic butler desperately searching for him, so as not to lose the lunch that took him years to prepare? Ciel mentally chortled at the look his butler must have, trying desperately to find him. It would take forever for Sebastian to find him as his Faustian contract was no longer placed upon him, making him hard enough to find; Ciel suspected he might have been sent forwards in time. It was humorous.

"My dad doesn't know how bad it is." Shawn said solemnly.

"No, he doesn't." Lee agreed with the other.

"I saw a guy in Atlanta kill a kid. A boy. Just shot him right in the face."

"Was the boy one of the walkers?" Ciel heard Lee shockingly ask.

"I don't even know. He was either attacking the guy or asking for help. He didn't even hesitate. He just turned, put the barrel of the gun right between this kid's eyes and pulled the trigger." From the way Shawn spoke, it seemed to the boy that the man was traumatized from the event he witnessed. It was no surprise that humans bring about the ugliness in themselves when society is in a state of panic and mayhem. He had witnessed it back on the _Campania_ as well in his own home during the murders. "You don't see things like that. It's not like in the movies."

"They don't fall like you think." Lee said, continuing to saw the wood.

"Did you have to do it?" Shawn asked the older man.

"Do what?" Lee knew what Shawn was asking him, but he tried to avoid the question.

"Kill." Shawn Greene frankly said, no judgment of whether the other man did or not. "Have you had to off one yet?"

"Oh, uh..." Lee hesitated to answer the other man. "I had to shoot one, before I found the kids. And Ciel..." He paused. Ciel waited for him to continue. He was after all, "resting", but that did not meant he was passed out. "Not to rub his ego, but the kid shot one point-blank. Never hesitated. Saved my life."

_You're welcome_. The boy smirked, knowing the man was indebted to him.

"Really?" Shawn whistled in amazement. "I could shoot one, maybe. If it were far away.

"I'm just glad we're getting this fence built. Dad just wants to keep the family safe and thinks inviting people in is a bigger threat than whatever's out there." Shawn Greene said without trying to offend the man.

Ciel understood Hershel Greene on that tidbit. In a world collapsing, family was all you had, and inviting strangers to your home could fall into calamity. The resources they had and gathered were enough for them, and rather than accommodating outsiders, one would must turn a blind eye, frigid in order to survive. The boy understood that logic. His experience at the hands of the perverse cult taught him how to go about to live out than others. Those other children had not been lucky as he. While it was true he was sacrificed to summon a beast from the pits of hell, it was his hatred, the vengeance that he swore that truly summoned the creature. It was the demon that brought him back to life. Yes, he understood Hershel; family or yourself, you must do everything to survive, and having others invade your life or lifestyle would be your ruin, your downfall. Lee and Clementine may have invaded his life, but like a game of chess, they were useful pieces; he would be the one to decide when to do away with his pawns.

The loud rumbles and vibration where he laid, alerted the boy to get up. The sound of painful, agonizing screams and snapping of twigs had Ciel off the back of the tractor, rounding the machine to find Shawn's leg caught under the red tractor. The boy's eyes widened when he found the snapping sound was in reality bone crunching. Ciel's eyes stared at Duck who was scared, shocked at the scene. He tried to pull the man away, but found it impossible as he was stuck well underneath the machine.

"Duck," Ciel called to the boy in urgency, "make it go backwards!" The small boy did not respond. Ciel tried to push the tractor back, but was of no use as his thin frame lacked such strength. He stared at the younger boy, which Ciel could see he was traumatized. _Not good!_ The young lord called to the boy once more, trying to get him to focus. "Duck!"

He then heard it. The snarling. Ciel looked around frantically, his eyes found Clementine running towards them. Her face was in such horror. The lordling tried to remain calm. He needed to assess the situation. If Shawn died, who knew what his father would do. Duck's scream got the boy's attention. A corpse grabbed the younger boy's leg, pulling him to the floor; two other bodies were a few feet away. Taking care of the closest one was priority, he would have to quickly shoot the corpse that clung to Duck first before he lost a good angle.

"Ciel!" He heard Lee call to him. The earl saw him running towards the scene.

"Help Shawn!" The boy ordered the older man. Pulling his revolver out, the boy took aim. He steadied his arm waiting for his opening. Finally, as Duck moved to his left, bringing the corpse closer in view, Ciel took his shot. The snarling and movement from the reanimated body stopped all together as the lordling pulled Duck off the tractor, a bit too forceful.

Kenny ran to his son, who was now on the ground safely distant from the scene. The young lord then moved to where Lee was helping the young Greene by attempting to swing a plank of wood at the corpses that got near the fence. Again, Ciel took aim at the two bodies. He pulled the trigger to the one on his right, rotting skin flecking the fence. Lee dropped the piece of wood and went to push the tractor off the other man. When that failed, he went to pull him out, but noticed he was truly caught underneath.

"I tried that!" Ciel shouted at his companion. His gun aimed to the last body. "Lee, try getting that piece of shit to go in reverse!"

"I don't know how to get it in reverse!" Lee shouted back at the boy. "Kenny help me!" Lee stared at Kenny, distressed. The man did not moved, scared, and held onto his son tight.

Taking aim once more, Ciel pulled the trigger again to find it jammed. _Goddamn it!_ He cursed.

"Shawn!" He heard the screams of one of the Greene children. Arnold, if he remembered correctly, followed by the youngest boy, Billy.

"He's cemented below." Lee informed the other Greene. "We need to get this thing to go in reverse."

"Right." Arnold agreed, running to the tractor.

_CRACK!_ The sound of the fence breaking from the weight of the body and another that arrived from the noise, notified Arnold and Lee to work fast. Quickly, Arnold presses the lever to make the tractor reverse. Lee and Billy pushed the vehicle back, slowly but surely.

Shawn's screams echoed. One of the corpses had climbed over the man, digging it's teeth on the neck. With his gun finally unjammed, after many attempts to make the gun fire, Ciel took his shot to the corpse by Shawn Greene's neck. Another shot was heard from behind, turning to see Hershel Greene shoot the last body with his rifle. The father, anguished, ran to his son's side, not caring he was covered in his own blood. Hershel gently held his eldest's head.

"I'm okay pop...I'm okay..." Shawn struggled to speak.

"I can fix you, don't worry, we'll stitch you up." Hershel gently said to his son, reassuring him.

"It almost...almost got me, man." Shawn said, groaning from the pain of the bite. "The kid...Lee and the kid tried to save me."

Hershel looked to Lee, then Ciel who still clung to his weapon. "I know, son."

"I..." Closing his eyes, Shawn drew the last of his breath, leaving words unspoken. Hershel, distraught, held his son. His other children were heard either swearing or crying.

"Fuck!" Arnold swore, kicking the barricade hard enough, breaking the bottom half. Billy shielding his face with cupped hands, slid down, his back reclining against the wheel of the vehicle.

Maggie approached closer to the scene, placing a gentle hand on her father's back, coaxing him to stand. "Daddy," she said, her voice quivering.

Lacey and Katjaa were shielding the younger children, keeping them away from seeing the gore just a few feet away. At last, Hershel got up, but still knelt before his dead son. An anger took over him.

"Get out." He softly said, Maggie gently rubbing her father's back in attempt to calm him.

"Daddy, calm down." Maggie softly said, her endeavors failing. She stared at the others, eyes saying to back away.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE." Hershel yelled at the strangers, his gaze solely on Kenny.

"I'm sorry." The dark haired man apologized, head hanging in shame.

"SORRY?" The elder man growled. "Your son is alive. You don't get to be sorry." His rage subsided when he turned to Ciel and Lee. "Y-you two tried to help him, but this piece of shit let him die." Hershel grasped onto the boy's shoulders in a firm grip, his head turned back to Kenny. "This _boy_ has more fucking balls than you."

Kenny could not look at the man. Ciel could not blame him, then again no one is at fault. Kenny froze, that was a natural reaction. Lee and he were different than the man. They had already dealt with a few of the dead. Of course, the boy did not know whether Kenny had experienced or even killed one of the corpses.

"You can't blame Kenny." Lee said to Hershel, who then turned to him. Kenny looked to Lee, some relief that he was being defended by the man.

"The hell I can't. You watch your back." Hershel said, a hint of betrayal and warning to Lee. "Wait until it's your kids and you need his help."

Arnold wrapped a caring arm around his father's shoulder, as they went to Shawn's bloodied body. Lacey walked behind them. She turned to the strangers and with a pleading look and with a soft voice she spoke. "Please, just go."

Hershel once more turned to the group, voice breaking. "Get out and never come back."

Ciel walked in step with Lee toward Kenny and his family. Clementine approached Ciel, the boy sighed tiredly and held out a hand for her, which she thankfully took. Her small hands gripped strongly, securely to his larger one. He could feel the trembling in her body. Felt her fear.

"You've got that ride to Macon if you want it." Kenny said to Lee, still solemn over the event. Perhaps it was Hershel's harsh words that had upset the man, Ciel did not know. All he knew was that poor old Kenny got a nasty tongue lashing from the elderly man, but who could blame him after losing a son? With that said, Kenny and his family turned to walk back to their blue pick-up not saying another word.

"I feel disgusted." Ciel spoke to his older companion, as they walked a ways back from the family.

"Don't blame yourself. You did the best you could to save his life." Lee said to the boy reassuringly, believing that it was what he meant. He heard the boy scoffed, his attitude somewhat returning.

"Not that, idiot." Ciel pulled on the collar of his shirt. The stench of sweat was overpowering to his nose, making him feel slightly sick. "I meant that I feel disgusted by the smell of my own perspiration. Sleeping in a barn house tend to make your clothes smell even more horrid. There better be a bath waiting in Macon." He then stared at his new (at least to him) shoes. The young lord did not know whether to return the shoes or keep them. Shawn Greene asked of him to care for them, but did he really wanted to keep wearing the dead man's old pair? Looking at them was going to keep reminding him of the man's dead body.

Lee saw the troubled look on Ciel's face, then to the article on his feet. "Keep 'em." He told the boy. "He would've wanted you to."

"I don't know what you're talking about old man." Ciel smirked at the older man, though it was halfhearted, there was none of that old spunk behind it. He felt a light pang in his chest, not knowing what it was. In fact, he did not know what came over him when he tried keeping Shawn Greene alive for as long as he did. Was this guilt? He mentally scoffed at the idea. Ciel Phantomhive did not quarrel with such trivial feelings as guilt. What did he felt guilty for? For not saving him? People died. That was life. Now, it was more of survival of the fittest, and nature herself did not deemed Shawn Greene strong nor adaptable enough to strive in this lifetime.

Lee roughly ruffled the boy's hair, a half smile on his lips. "You really do need a shower. You pretty much stink." The older man lightly laughed as they finally made it to the blue pick-up truck.

"Katjaa, why don't you ride in the back, keep Duck company, and you know...?" Kenny asked his wife. The woman nodded in agreement and folded the front seat to lead her to the back. "Lee you can ride with me shotgun and the kids can go in the back with Katjaa."

"Sounds like a plan." Lee said, helping Clementine up the pick-up. He held on to the front seat for the boy to hop on, and once he did, Lee brought the seat back to its original position. He hopped on and strapped himself as Kenny entered on his side turning the truck on.

Ciel leaned his head against the window, drained from the horrible day. He closed his eyes, letting a tired breath leave his lips as he relaxed in his seat. The quaking of the truck was a welcoming lull as the young lord finally let sleep come to him.

Pulling out of the farm, they left the Greene farm not knowing the fate that was sealed for the family that was left behind.

* * *

_I do apologize for the lateness of this chapter. It was very difficult to write as I want to deviate away from the game's dialogue and some scenes to make them my own. It was a very difficult task indeed. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, though it was not my best, and I promise I would have the next one up ASAP without months of leave._

_Reviews are deeply appreciated as they boost my morale, but not necessary. So long as those enjoy reading this story, it is rewarding enough for me to continue as I am very fond of this story._

_Tootles! _**8 )**

_::Note:: Edited on 3/27/15_


	3. Author's Note:No It's Not What You Think

Author's Note:

No, I am not dead and neither is this story. I have been working on it for months, and every time I try writing the third chapter, I happened to change my mind on it and start again from scratch. Then there is my work schedule, which I happen to work before the sun even rises while most of you are still asleep at that time, warm in your beds haha; naturally, I am tired. But I have finally saved up enough to get me out of debt and buy a new computer so that I may be able to progress faster with my writing.

As of recent, I have been working on other stories too. On My Own has its little niche in a Chapters Idea log that I keep, writing future chapters—like for season two, wink wink—for this story. So you can be sure that OMO is not dead, and I have not stopped thinking about it, even through my brief writer's block.

Anyway, I have a poll up in my profile for those of you who might be interested in me posting a new story while I take my time preparing the third chapter of OMO.

Here is a list of the stories I had been working on, for now I am comfortable sharing the summary of them:

**_Promised Eden_**: The fall of Wall Maria was inevitable, even by the squad of Rangers that set foot on the land from the sophisticated and highly advanced country of Eden across the salty sea. Five years after the devastation of Wall Maria, Trost and Wall Rose were the next targets for the Titans, but Eden had been watching, and are ready to bring the fight to the monsters from the land beyond, and their intentions for the populace of the Walls.

—Fandom: SNK. Story told from various viewpoints in third person. **Rated M**.

**_Remembering the Light_**: The final battle against Xehanort was over, and the light was lost among the worlds when the darkness reigned. After in deep sleep for the past five years, Sora awakens in a world that was the only one left that the darkness did not reach. Realizing his failure to save everyone, the Keyblade Master had no one to confide his turmoil but the Queen of this lone world which its light has begun to recede.

—Fandom: Kingdom Hearts. Third person point of view through Sora. **Rated M**.

**_Tales of Realm Saga: Book One_**: After abdicating her claim as the Crown Prince of the Great Kingdom of Arendelle to her younger brother, and forced to marry Jackson Frost, the Crown Prince of the Great Kingdom of Burgess, through an arranged marriage before they were born, Elsa and Jack begin the tragic journey of their marriage—if one of them could feel anything at all—and the fight for power of the most covetous seat of Princess Consort, and soon-to-be Queen of a powerful kingdom.

This story is part of an eight book series with a ninth being a filler.

—Fandom: Frozen/Rise of the Guardians Crossover. Story told from various viewpoints in third person. **Rated M**.

**_Ciel and Aria_**: Aria Deneuve lived her life through the poverty of the East End of London with her nagging mother, a carefree father, and twin little brothers—or the spawns of Satan, as she preferred—(not including her older brother and sister). When her mother decided to take matters into her own hands by sending Aria to learn domestics, the twelve-year-old catches the interest of a certain Marchioness after seeing the young girl's experience with serving, and takes her to the one place Aria's skills would flourish...the Phantomhive Manor; and under the wing of one hell of a butler.

—Fandom: Kuroshitsuji. Story told in third person through Aria's point of view. **Rated M**.


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